The Ballad of Aramei Read Online Free PDF Page A

little.
    Harry goes back to the important matter, “But since disease and old age are also two things that werewolves are immune to, if one of us were to become werewolf, we wouldn’t need to feed as often to stay young.”
    “So what are you saying?” I ask.
    “Just that if the traitor is also a werewolf, it knocks out another tool I might’ve been able to use to find out who he or she is.”
    “Leaving you no bread crumbs,” Isaac says.
    Harry nods. “Exactly. Two of the ways in which I would’ve been able to pinpoint the traitor—feeding patterns and someone Adria could see that no one else could—are useless.”
    “So then what’s left?” I say, feeling more and more defeated and exposed.
    “Sheer luck if we want to smoke it out safely,” Harry answers with heavy abandon. “And we have to smoke it out safely.”
    I sigh heavily and meet Isaac’s gaze. He looks as concerned as I know I do.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
     
     
    BACK AT ISAAC’S HOUSE, the first thing I do is hit the shower. We had gotten all of the blood off my body in the creek, but by the amount of reddish-brown flowing into the shower drain, we only managed to wash away about five percent of the blood from my hair.
    I think about my two transitions as I stand in the shower and let the hot water batter my skin. I remember the excruciating pain, the way my skull literally split in half. How my ribs each snapped one by one in fast succession and how I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. But I couldn’t. I remember trying, holding my breath for so long, hoping to cut off the flow of oxygen to my brain so that I could just collapse and not feel the pain anymore. But I know now that I’ll never be that lucky.
    And I also know that I’ll do everything in my power to keep from shifting between moon cycles. I’ll be damned if I ever let anger or lust get the better of me, sending me right back into that violent and cruel and unforgiving transformation. I may not be able to control a full moon shift once a month, but I won’t let it happen when the rest of the month it’s all in my hands.
    Of course, I say that now, but deep down I know it won’t be easy, to hold back the rage, to refrain from being seduced by lust. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. This makes me wonder just how much easier it will be for me to stay calm in angry situations. I know there’s more to it than just doing Yoga or converting to Buddhism.
    This worries me a great deal.
    I get dressed, thankful to toss that hideous granny gown in the garbage and head to Isaac’s room to find Daisy sitting with him. It’s obvious that I walked in on a conversation because their words cease in an instant and Daisy’s face lights up when she sees me.
    I try to act nonchalant, but at the same time I’m way too curious to let it slide.
    I hug Daisy back as she slips her arms around me and at the same time I say, “What were you two talking about?” I’m looking right at Isaac standing next to the bed.
    Daisy pulls away and smiles at me, tilting her blond head gently to one side, which makes her look all the more innocent. “Oh, honey,” she says, letting her fingers fall away from my elbows, “it’s nothing really to worry about.”
    I smile back at her, but I’m not giving up that easily and she knows it. “Well then there shouldn’t be any reason to keep it from me then.”
    The two of them glance at each other as if to say quietly, Guess she got us on this one.
    Isaac moves over to me and he’s half grinning, half concerned and I don’t know whether to be worried, or not.
    He nods toward the bedroom door and hooks his hand around my elbow. “Come on, we’ll show you.”
    I look back at Daisy once, hoping her expression might reveal something more telling than Isaac’s, but she’s even better at hiding the severity of a situation than he is.
    What is this all about ? I really hate this….
    I walk with them down the stairs and into the large